After the seventh round of play, the Elite League has a new lead squad.
The Cardiff Devils are now top of the standings, with their 4-0-1 regular-season record raising eyebrows across the competition.
Just a fortnight ago, Paul Thompson cut an underwhelmed figure behind the bench in Cardiff, presiding over a topsy-turvy start in the Challenge Cup.
Both those early season wobbles are now in the rear-view mirror: the Devils are finding their stride — and the quality of their netminding has been a major factor.
With that, let’s dive into the season’s seventh Elite League Team of the Week.
Elite League Team of the Week: Round 7
Ben Bowns, Cardiff Devils:
Ben Bowns, Cardiff Devils (Image: Scott Wiggins)
Unbelievably, there are still people out there who doubt Ben Bowns.
The 34-year-old continues to operate at an exceptional level for the Cardiff Devils — and was crucial to their back-to-back wins over the Nottingham Panthers and Coventry Blaze this weekend.
Bowns made 55 saves on 56 shots, backstopping his team to four points and a shutout.
The Team Great Britain veteran stopped every high- and medium-danger scoring chance fired his way (27), denying 1.75 goals above expectations.
Bowns has conceded just four goals over his last five starts. He remains undefeated in the battle against Father Time.
Brandon Estes, Cardiff Devils:
Brandon Estes, Cardiff Devils (Image: James Assinder)
Brandon Estes continues to buzz away on Cardiff’s blueline.
The American started the weekend with a goal and a primary assist in the Devils’ 4-1 win over Nottingham, before adding an empty net secondary assist late on versus the Blaze.
Estes has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his first 14 Elite League appearances, all while playing a solid, responsible game at both ends of the ice.
Paul Thompson calls upon the 28-year-old in all situations, with Estes clocking 59 minutes of ice time in gameweek seven.
Dominic Cormier, Sheffield Steelers:
Dominic Cormier, Sheffield Steelers (Image: Dean Woolley)
Dominic Cormier’s clutch gene remains in full force.
The Steelers’ blueliner added two more points to his tally (11 points in 15 games), scoring Sheffield’s last-minute winner over the Guildford Flames, before recording a secondary powerplay assist in victory over the Manchester Storm.
Mathieu Gosselin, Guildford Flames:
The Guildford Flames have one of the season’s most underrated signings in Mathieu Gosselin.
The Canadian is producing at a point-per-game pace despite Guildford’s injury-hit start to the campaign, including three points in gameweek seven.
While Gosselin found twine versus the Steelers, his biggest impact of the weekend came on Sunday [26 October] versus the Belfast Giants when he scored and provided an assist in a 2-1 win.
Ryan Smith, Belfast Giants:
Ryan Smith notched a brace in Belfast’s 3-0 win over the Glasgow Clan on Saturday.
Joseph Nardi, Manchester Storm:
Whatever the end result, the Storm always deliver entertainment value.
Cam Critchlow’s squad play a physical, aggressive, and offensively-minded style of hockey — and that’s playing out on the scoresheet.
Manchester’s last five games have yielded a total of 29 goals, with Joseph Nardi a frequent contributor to the Storm’s share.
The Canadian produced a standout performance to take down the Dundee Stars on Saturday [25 September], scoring twice and providing an empty net primary assist.
